§ 8 Responses to 2013 Man Booker International Prize Shortlist

Hi there, this is an interesting prize, I like it when it introduces new authors:) I’ve read Marilynne Robinson’s Gilead but didn’t like it, and I’ve also read two of Yan Lianke’s, ‘Dream of Ding Village’ which was my pick for the Shadow Man Asian but it didn’t win, and just recently Lenin’s Kisses which is a witty satire about a ‘development project’ in rural China. They decide to buy Lenin’s corpse from cash-strapped Russia and put it in a mausoleum as a tourist attraction. It’s one of the best books I’ve read in the last couple of months. The link is here, if you want to have a look – I did a Sensational Snippet as well so you can see his style of writing: http://anzlitlovers.com/category/who-to-find-here-anz-in-capitals/lianke-yan/
I hope I can find some of the others in the bookshops!

Wait! *smacks forehead* I lied, I’ve read Aharon Appelfeld too! I read his Blooms of Darkness last year when I was doing the Shadow International Foreign Fiction Prize with Stu at Winston’s Dad. I was very impressed, see http://anzlitlovers.com/2012/04/22/blooms-of-darkness-by-aharon-appelfeld/
So now having read three of them, two of which I liked a lot, I’m in a position to pick a winner LOL … that’s not easy but I think I’d choose Yan Lianke, only because he’s tackling themes that are new to me in a culture that’s new to me.

Lisa – You are a reading machine! I can’t wait to see what you think of the other authors on the list. ‘Dream of a Ding Village’ has been on my radar for a while now, so I’m going to at least try to get that read before the winner is announced.

I tried to read ‘Gilead’ when it was first released and it just wasn’t my cup of tea.

That’s the thing about reading international fiction, it dulls the taste for domestic themes so that only the very best transcends it. I’m reading Narcopolis at the moment, and it’s going to make any domestic tale about drug addiction look a bit feeble!

Your surprise at the “diversity” is a bit strange to me – I would certainly expect the majority of the candidates for the Man Booker International Prize to mostly be translated! And I read it as “only” three women, though it could be worse on that front. This is one of those prizes that seems like it should be diverse and good and all, but leans towards the Anglo choice and doesn’t really do much for international literature as a whole…

Hi Biblibio –
I didnt think I expressed surprise in my post – only that I stated that this may be the most diverse list for that prize to date. If you look back over past short lists I think you’ll agree.

Regarding whether the list should be diverse, or that I’d like to see more women featured on it, or that in the past it’s been a disappointment – I don’t disagree with you. But this year’s prize, and the thought that seems to have been put into selecting the jurors, feels like a step in the right direction. And as the prize, itself, is only a decade old leads me to hope that it will continue to improve.

The Guardian interview with Parks speaks somewhat to the gender bias. I wonder if you have any thoughts on why one still exists? Frankly, it baffles me. I don’t believe women are consciously being overlooked, or that anyone seriously believes men are more talented “writers”, yet the unequal representation on these prizelists continues.